A fisherman’s patience

In the first episode of ‘The Accidental Angler’ (aired last night on BBC2), presenter Charles Rangeley-Wilson goes to India in search of the mighty mahseer fish. The first proper day of fishing passes without success and as the night starts to fall Rangeley-Wilson comments that:

‘The bite, or the take, might come at any time or it might not come at all’.

This quote reminds me of the importance of patience in trading, the idea that a good trade may not present itself in a long time. It is important to look for opportunity, but if opportunity cannot be found it should not be forced simply because of my presence. I need to bear this in mind.

4 responses to “A fisherman’s patience”

Caravaggio, Often when I trade, I conjure up an image of being in a small boat in a placid lake, with a fishing line in the water, knowing that at the moment nothing is biting, and that I got my line out, got my bait out, and it will just be a matter of time before something bites. And the placidity of the lake is calming and reassuring until the action happens.

Excellent Michelle. The metaphor is a good one. I will add a small picture of a boat to my trading road map to reinforce the importance of patience.

For a moment I thought the idea of ‘forcing trades’ didn’t quite fit in with the fishing metaphor, but it does because if the fish aren’t biting, the fisherman has the destructive option of diving off the boat and into the water!